


i know (i know a place we can stay)

by zeniel



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora Day, F/F, Modern AU, happy birthday adora fic!!, sorry if they come off oc, very fluffy and indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28854534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeniel/pseuds/zeniel
Summary: Adora smiled widely as she stepped away from the animals and held Catra’s hand as they made the short walk back to their apartment. “I almost got to you then.”Catra laughed; the same laugh that Adora fell in love with; all beautiful and high-pitched and melodious. “You’re such an idiot.”-a story about young adults catradora in love. beware: fluff, sappiness and an acoustic guitar lay beyond.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 99





	i know (i know a place we can stay)

It had been hard for Adora to get used to the eerily, pin-drop silence that she and Catra’s new apartment held. 

Of course, it wasn’t always quiet—they got the cheapest apartment that they could find in the lower Etherian area; the only requirement that both of them had was that it was far away enough from the Hordean Provinces where they grew up. There were always kids running around, getting ready for school on weekdays or roughhousing it and playing around on weekends. The loud whir of construction workers—their screams of communications more loud and alarming than any of the machines they pulled out. This set off the animal shelter next door, causing all adorable puppies and kittens to start barking and meowing and generally making boisterous noise. 

Well, Adora found them adorable. The jury was still out with them and Catra. Although, a part of Adora just thought she was doing that so that her integral “rebel” personality wouldn't fade away. 

_(“We bake brownies on Sundays’ and have a domestic-ass chore wheel, Adora. I need some way to prove I’m still a badass.” Adora leaned into Catra, letting her blonde hair touch the nape of Catra’s neck and swinging her arms around her shoulders. “They’re so cute, though!”_

_Catra chuckled, letting her warm lips brush Adora’s soft skin lightly as she kissed her forehead and cheek. “Good effort,” Catra teased before giving her one final kiss, short and sweet on the lips. “Keep trying, though.”_

_Adora smiled widely as she stepped away from the animals and held Catra’s hand as they made the short walk back to their apartment. “I almost got to you then.”_

_Catra laughed; the same laugh that Adora fell in love with; all beautiful and high-pitched and melodious. “You’re such an idiot.”)_

But, inside the apartment and their building, a nearly crypt-like silence enveloped them. It wasn’t too bad; hell some people might have even called it a saving grace, but Adora and Catra woke up the first night in their apartment at 3 AM, holding onto each other, unable to sleep. 

Back at their foster home, noise was good; it was a welcome distraction—even the kind of noise that scared them. At least then they could climb up onto their spot; the high drop on the home’s gabled roof, that would let them see all of the Hordean Provinces and the Etherian Areas—maybe even past that if they squinted. But silence—that was the killer. Silence meant something was wrong; it meant that Weaver was in a bad mood, that Catra had done something to disappoint, that Adora had stood up for one of the many foster kids that Weaver would snark at and demean; and it just so happened that Weaver’s favourite picking was Catra.

They both knew what silence meant for them—even though they had never said it out loud. They didn’t need to; they knew each other, and they knew what being raised by the same woman had done to them subconsciously. 

Adora and Catra had made many attempts to make the apartment feel more like home—and that meant making it louder in any way. They did small things like light freshly-scented candles, play lively songs from Adora and Catra’s joint playlist while doing chores and sing along as loud as they could before someone would bang on their door, asking them to keep it down; then singing along resolved into uncontrollable laughter whenever they so much as glanced at each other. Sometimes, Catra would even break out her acoustic guitar of all things and play one of Adora’s favourite songs, just to make her smile.

These small, beautiful and thoughtful things that they did for each other helped make every day a little brighter. It helped make the days that were hard and tiring after work and college and paying bills better. Just a little bit warmer. 

-

Warmth—that was immediately the first feeling that Adora felt as she woke up. 

Mornings in January were always cold, and Adora was always the first one to complain about the freezing, frigid cold in the morning. So in anticipation, the previous night, Adora would monopolize and steal every warm blanket she could find. Catra always teased her, insisting that she already does a good job keeping her warm with a seductive and wry smirk on the girl's face. Adora always swatted Catra away with one of her many pillows before Catra retaliated, throwing a pillow at Adora's face with a playful smirk and hooking her hands at the back of Adora's neck, pressing their foreheads together.

Catra did keep her warm that night- that was simply something that Adora couldn't deny.

But even on the mornings that she’d wake up with Catra; a different kind of warmth all together that’d make her feel lightheaded with how encompassing it was that she had Catra so close to her and so personally; her toes still felt like they were practically freezing off and she knew that Catra would make fun of her for the goosebumps lining her pale skin. 

However, this morning, Adora felt nothing of the cold, only of delicate, wonderful warmth; the only kind that she could feel on those striking summer mornings. Adora woke up, blissfully confused, and she blinked slowly. One of those weighted sleep blankets that were too expensive to afford had been thrust over her and Adora couldn’t but arch into the comfort that this blanket had to offer. The first thing that Adora realized; the first two things really; was the sore ache near her chest as Adora quickly realized that Catra was no longer close to her, and there was a gentle murmur of honey-dripped lyrics. 

Immediately, Adora could sense the familiar tune and rhythms; she let a sleepy yet wide smile spread across her face. Despite her sleepy disposition, Adora managed to get out of bed, the weighted grey blanket wrapped around her like a shield. She walked the few feet separating their bedroom from their make-shift living room and kitchen where she sure Catra was, excited to see Catra, despite herself. 

It was almost inane how much Adora yearned for Catra, even now that they were officially dating. But the blonde girl simply couldn’t help herself. The days that start with hearing Catra’s voice are always better than the rest; there was always something about hearing Catra’s dulcet, melodious voice that started the day right for Adora. Before, when they were both just foster kids back in their ratty, old neighbourhoods, those days were rare—the first thing Adora would hear is someone telling her to wake up or her noisy alarm going off at 5 AM, telling her to get her early morning jog in. Now, it wasn’t like that—now, on most days, she got to wake up to forehead kisses to wake her up on the weekdays and Catra forcing Adora to spoon her and stay in bed on the weekend—not that she had any kind of aversion to that. 

As Adora in her sleep-trodden, nearly zombie-like state, walked into the living room, she couldn’t help but gasp, awestruck at the scene before. Despite herself, she felt salty tears line her bottom lashes.

_This is all I ever wanted._

There Catra was; sitting cross-legged on their ratty, alarmingly bright yellow couch. An acoustic guitar slung across her chest, Catra had never looked more at peace, sitting there in one of Adora’s sweatshirts (that she ‘borrowed’) and her curls streaming down past her shoulders. Her eyes were closed as she strummed the guitar idly and murmured a few bare lyrics. Beyond that, she could see a beautiful spread of pancakes, french toast and waffles, all laced in chocolate syrup and Nutella on the coffee table that Adora didn’t even know they had. Now, there was something substantial stuck between Adora’s ribs right then; something special and poignant and something that she couldn’t quite put her fingers on. Taking another look at Catra, she decided to psychoanalyze herself could wait at the love of her life. 

“Ahem,” Adora cleared her throat quietly, letting the sound travel through the mostly silent room. Catra’s eyes opened in a flash, and she turned around, a nearly troubled expression on her face, knowing her surprise had been ruined. 

Catra groaned loudly, sinking into the fabric of their couch, pressing the palms of her hands over her eyes. “I swear, this was not part of the plan! At least not my plan? Scorpia and Perfuma helped me with...” Catra started ranting, her speech nervous and fumbling, the way it always was when she was caught off guard; especially in matters that came to Adora. “I wanted to wake you up with breakfast in bed and play a sappy song on the guitar because I know my acoustic guitar is like 70% the reason why you’re attracted to me. And then we’d gorge on the rest of the Nutella and check your horoscope because I know you like that astrological shit and—” 

Unknown to Catra, Adora had saddled her way over to the couch. In one swift moment (all of those 5 AM jogs amounted to something, at least), Adora had Catra pinned to the arm of the couch, pressing her forehead to hers before releasing the tight grip that she had on Catra and laughing, tears of joy leaving Adora’s eyes. “I fucking love you. You know that, right?” The words are whispered like a prayer, like a reverent saying that was only meant for Catra and Catra alone. 

Catra smiled, the tension oozing away from her body. “It’s because of the guitar, isn’t it?” Her lips moved closer to Adora’s; a deliberate action but waiting for Adora to make the first move. 

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” Adora whispered, teasing in her voice, an inside joke that only Catra would understand. 

“You’re an idiot.” Catra’s words are muffled as she clasps a hand over her lips to hide the genuine laugh, and the joy seeping out from her. 

“Yeah,” Adora admitted quietly, before leaning in fully, capturing Catra’s lips softly, letting the familiar feeling of warmth and love fill her ribcage. 

“Happy birthday, you fucking dummy.” Catra finally whispered between euphoric laughs and smirks. Adora mirrored her laughs, the joy she held practically seeping between the cracks that held Adora together.

Maybe that’s what Catra was to Adora; maybe, in the end, she was the thing that made her happy, the person who brought her joy, the one person who finally taught her: how to love. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi !! so i'll probabaly edit this note later but that's just something i did in a day for adora's birthday!! which is unparralled for me cause i like to rewrite a lot! but i just wanted to have this little ficlet as a love letter to catra and adora and how celebrating adora's birthday in the modern universe would go :))
> 
> i hope you enjoyed!  
> -zeniel<3  
> twitter: @/spopsapphicz


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